Chambersburg, PA - The University of Valley Forge Men's Volleyball team secured the first win in program history, defeating the Phoenix of Wilson College in four sets (32-30, 25-19, 25-27, 28-26). With the win, Valley Forge moves to 1-4 on the season, and 1-0 in the CSAC.
With the first conference game in action, both teams put up a fight on a Friday night in Gannett Field House. Valley Forge took to a quick 4-1 lead, but it quickly turned into a point-for-point situation. Tied at 13 apiece,
Ryan Deschaine heated things up for the Patriots with an aggressive kill, followed by 3 Wilson errors, allowing Valley Forge to take the 16-13 lead.
David Fletcher and
Garrett Olsen controlled the net game, giving the Patriots a 23-18 advantage. However, the Phoenix found a las minute offensive surge to put them back into it, needing only 1-point to take set at 25-24. Valley Forge and Wilson battled it out, tying six different times before the Patriots would secure the win with a kill and service ace from Deshcaine.
After an impressive first set win, Valley Forge jumped on a quick 12-6 lead. The Patriots held their momentum, collecting four kills and capitalizing off of Phoenix errors. With a demanding 20-12 advantage, Wilson snuck back into the set, earning 6 out of the next 9 points to change the scoreboard to 23-18 in favor of Valley Forge. The Patriots were able to pull it off with a kill from Brown to take the 25-19 win.
Despite winning the first two sets, Valley Forge had a hiccup in the third frame, falling to the Phoenix 25-27.
Wilson held an early 5-0 lead over the Patriots before Deschaine broke the ice with a kill, followed by two Wilson error and a kill from Olsen. Down 4-6, the Patriots took a 4-0 run to claim the 8-6 lead. Both teams traded points and offensive runs for the majority of the set. With the Patriots only up by a lone point, Wilson found a kill and used two Patriots errors to hold a 2-point advantage. However, in similar fashion to the previous sets, both teams found themselves at en even score. 1-point away from securing the win, the Patriots made two crucial attacking errors, giving Wilson back the lead and putting them 1-point away from victory. Wilson was unable to utilize the errors as they committed two mistakes. Tied 26-26, Valley Forge took home the first win in program history after two additional Wilson errors for a 28-26 final score.
Olsen collected a career-high 9 kills, followed by Brown who also collected a career-high 9 kills. Fletcher tallied 8 kills. Deschaine did what he does best, securing 4 service aces. Fletcher was a beast on the net with 3 blocks, while notching a career-high 14 assists. Brown, Boyce, and Deschaine held down the back row with 12, 11, and 10 digs, respectively.
Valley Forge will aim to secure another win as they face the Highlanders of Cairn University on Saturday, April 10th at noon.
